A BUSINESSMAN whose firm has gone bust is keeping his seat on a government advisory group to small businesses.

The circumstances of the Teesside recycling firm's collapse were not clear last night, but its boss, Paul Morgan, is keeping his seat on the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Council.

A spokeswoman for the DTI confirmed last night: "He remains a member."

Paul Morgan, director of Roseberry Recycling, which is going into voluntary liquidation, could not be contacted over the weekend.

Mr Morgan, who is also chairman of the Tees Valley area board of Young Enterprise, has called a meeting of creditors to be held at the offices of insolvency specialists Taylor Rowlands, at Yarm, on March 19. His firm will go into voluntary liquidation on that date.

Roseberry was set up in 1995 and recovered from a devastating arson attack in 1997.

In 1998, Mr Morgan was given a Shell Livewire Young Business Start Up Award.

Nine councils across the North-East signed up as partners with Roseberry in a recycling partnership launched almost two years ago.

Stockton and Darlington borough councils, which were at the forefront of recycling projects, said the firm's collapse would have no impact on future of their green schemes, other sub-contractors having been found to take Roseberry's place.

Roseberry began dealing with cans and aerosols but then moved into waste collection and recycling, with bottle, paper and can banks and doorstep collections.

It employed 25 people, had 300 collection sites across the North-East and Cumbria, and had an annual turnover of £1m. Mr Morgan once briefed Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his position on the small business council gave him "the ears of ministers".

Harvey Madden, of Taylor Rowlands, said last night: "The company ceased to trade on February 20. The director came to see me to take insolvency advice.

"It's obvious the company is insolvent and therefore he has called a meeting of the creditors to put the company into liquidation.

"We have been engaged as insolvency accountants and will be preparing a statement of affairs to be placed before creditors on March 19."